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UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 Group Stage Draw ~ Coverage

So, here we go again: The Champions League are back after the stunning, heroic; and somewhat miraculous win of Chelsea last season. The Blues are going to try defend their trophy with other top European sides vying for it.

Meanwhile, you can leave out your thoughts on the draw and the Champions League in general. Fantasy predictions are allowed. And like always, I'm gonna leave my thoughts on the teams and the groups stage.

The teams are divided into 4 pots that's been determined by the coefficient points of UEFA. Chelsea; being the holder is automatically into Pot No.1. Here are the 32 clubs that are going to be in this year's CL.

Pot 1

Pot 2

Pot 3

Pot 4

Escorp's personal thoughts:

- Pot 1: No big surprises there. Though I wonder how will the prestigious Milan will perform after being weakened this season. EPL Clubs will be back with a vengeance while Madrid and Barca will remain top-favorites to dethrone Chelsea. I don't know how Bayern will fare after last year's disappointment though.

- Pot 2: Manchester City will remain one of the top dangers that biggies will want to evade. Otherwise, most of the remaining teams are accustomed to CL and are potential dangers.

- Pot 3: Is it me or it is weird to see only two Italian teams in a Champions League edition? Anyways, Juventus is biled as the top Italian club and are reigning Serie A champions. So, rightfully, they are a team that no top guns will want to crossroads with at an early stage. To be noted are the Frenchies - ParisSG with its glitz of stars that they recruited and Lille who barely passed through play-offs after losing their star, Hazard. Ajax, with its history, is always a menace.

- Pot 4: I find it saddening that Dortmund is still in last pot and somewhat, it feels insulting especially when you noticed how Dortmund completely dominated Bayern in Bundesliga in last two years. Anyhow, I personally wouldn't be happy for the teams who'll face-off the Yellow Wagon. Montpellier, Nordsjælland & Málaga are debuting in the CL, so I'll wish them good luck.

The biggest group of death possible will be a Madrid/Barca - Man.City - Juventus - Dortmund. Somewhat, it's so tempting Many new transfer signings like Hazard, Kagawa, Ibra, T.Silva ect... could also face with their old clubs.

And yeah, there's also the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe prize to be awarded. The Top 3 Nominees are Iniesta, Messi and Ronaldo. You can check stats and achievements of these 3 in the link. To be noted is that this award has been tilted upside-down since it's a combination of both Best Player during the last CL and this year's Euro 2012 (both UEFA competitions). In that sense, Euro's Best Player - Iniesta - is nominated among the last 3. And somehow, the Chelsea heroes - Drogba and Cech - didn't make it to the Top 3 due to Euro's influence. On the hand, Messi's sensational stats in the CL also kept Euro 2012's other heroes out - notably Pirlo and Casillas. Oh well, that's life. Personally, I'd hand the award to Iniesta, with CR7 as first runner-up.

Winner of the 2011/12 UEFA Best Player in Europe: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona | Spain)

EDIT: It has started. It's revealed that the voting of the Best Player will be done live by a panel that's present there in Monaco. Somewhat I don't like this decision. Side note: This dress on Irina Shayk is f*cking hot. Oh just noticed, Iniesta's newly-wedded wife. She looks good too. Lol, Ronaldo is reminding us of his penalties jinxes in last CL and Euro

Re: UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 Group Stage Draw ~ Coverage

Thanks. Starts in less than 15 minutes now. Btw, I forgot to state some global rules of the CL draw. Since we got time, I could well do this now.

1. There are four pots of eight teams. Teams from Pot No.1 will be chosen first and allocated different groups. Thus, they won't meet in group stages. The draw is swiftly coordinated and continued in numerical order; that is, Pot 2 to Pot 3 to Pot 4 afterwards.

2. Teams from the same country cannot be drawn into the same group. That's one more reason why there's Rule No.1. For example, if we were to fancy a group consisting of City, Juventus and Dortmund, then that group will definitely not contain another English, Italian or German team. Can be only one of the 2 Spanish giants or Porto.

3. If two teams from the same country have qualified, they will be paired to split their matches between Tuesday and Wednesday. These pairings will be based on the TV audience and take account of the provisions of the competition regulations concerning stadiums. That's economical decision and to take better security provisions in some cases.

4. Each team will play three matches on Tuesdays and three on Wednesdays. Clubs from a Nordic country like Russia and Belarus will play their final group games away in December because of their severe winters. Speaking of which, I always hope that United don't get a Russia or Turkey trip. The journey can often prove to be more beastly that the teams itself. I think that'll be it.

Group D is Group of Death hand down.
Group E & F are gonna be solid groups.
Group B, G & H are all very affordable for Arsenal, Barca and United but caution is key.
Group A & C sound pretty tight and playable for nearly all teams.

Re: UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 Group Stage Draw ~ Coverage

Group A:

PSG and Porto should come up top in this group.

Group B:

Arsenal are favourites in this one, but Montpellier and Shalke will fight.

Group C:

Milan and Malaga will remain favs, but the recent form of the clubs seem like they may have to fight twice as hard as any other favs in the other groups except group of death. Zenit will challenge them and may make it out upsetting one of the sides.

Group D:

Well Madrid will most likely finish up top or at most second. I have a feeling Dortmund may finish second, but who knows. Ajax will have to fight a lot to resist the attacking from all three sides. City had an upsetting run last year and their form now isn't at its best and like last year they have no room for any mistakes.

Aren't City getting a nice welcoming committee to Europe :p 2nd year group of death.

Group E:

Juventus and Chelsea are favs here, but Donetsk is a decent side also.

Group F:

Valencia and Bayern will topple this group, but Lillie may spring up a surprise.

Group G:

Barcelona and Benfica should have this one, but Celtic have been to this stage and even won, so we can't underestimate them.

Group H:

United and Braga, all tho Galatasaray is a side both should be wary of.

Re: UEFA Champions League 2012/2013 Group Stage Draw ~ Coverage

Originally Posted by ReLax -

Group A:

PSG and Porto should come up top in this group.

Group B:

Arsenal are favourites in this one, but Montpellier and Shalke will fight.

Group C:

Milan and Malaga will remain favs, but the recent form of the clubs seem like they may have to fight twice as hard as any other favs in the other groups except group of death. Zenit will challenge them and may make it out upsetting one of the sides.

Group D:

Well Madrid will most likely finish up top or at most second. I have a feeling Dortmund may finish second, but who knows. Ajax will have to fight a lot to resist the attacking from all three sides. City had an upsetting run last year and their form now isn't at its best and like last year they have no room for any mistakes.

Aren't City getting a nice welcoming committee to Europe :p 2nd year group of death.

Group E:

Juventus and Chelsea are favs here, but Donetsk is a decent side also.

Group F:

Valencia and Bayern will topple this group, but Lillie may spring up a surprise.

Group G:

Barcelona and Benfica should have this one, but Celtic have been to this stage and even won, so we can't underestimate them.

Group H:

United and Braga, all tho Galatasaray is a side both should be wary of.

PSG is not doing so well despite their huge expenditures. Porto is favorite; but I can't say the same for the rest. Zagreb and Kyiv are no pushovers and got quite some CL experience by now. But still, PSG got a great chance.

Arsenal are clear-cut favorites but they'll just need to play all those teams carefully. Giroud will meet his old club, Montpellier that he helped clinching a historic French title by upsetting PSG. But yeah, Montpellier isn't doing too well either since this star-departure. I'd bet something on Shalke though for the 2nd place.

Zenit is a solid side by now and built-up solid credibility on both Cl and Europa platforms. Milan is such a prestigious side in CL history; even though I'm worried for them given their losses in players. Malaga has proved to be a very tricky side in the Liga, so they'll have good chances. Frankly, I'd say that Zenit will end up first and either Milan or Malaga will barely squeeze through.

I don't know what to say on this Group of Death. It sure isn't the best way for Madrid to give another attempt at this wanted 10th CL trophy. Neither is it the ideal way for the Citizens to enter a second Group of Death lol. I almost pity Ajax and its fans. And yeah, Dortmund are one heck of a team. Somehow, I like most teams in this group (well not City but I do support English teams as always, so...). It's gonna be pretty nice. City is gonna fare better than last year. They are perhaps not with the same confidence as last uear but they have matured and gained more experience. But on the flip side, this group sounds even more tough than last year. Dortmund aren't blessed either. It's gonna be a tough call; predicting this one even if I don't believe much in Ajax chances at all.

Group E & F are very similar. 2 teams - Chelsea/Juventus and Bayern/Valencia - seem favorites to topple the group and 1 team - Doneskt and Lille are gonna try to force an upset. Nordsjælland and Bate are clearly weaker but they are gonna be underestimated and could cost one team their qualification. They are wild cards. That's why I say, these are very solid groups. The hierarchy is defined but maintaining it, is another thing.

In another way, Group G & H are also very similar.

Barcelona are clear-cut favorites. But Benfica is a very solid side. Celtic is a very football-breathing team. And a trip to Russia, well, it's not always the best thing.

United are also favorites but we should learn from last year's debacle. No fiasco should be allowed to occur this time and caution shall be key. Like Celtic, Galatasaray got a very sulfuric stadium to say the least and yeah, I'm not fan of a Turkish voyage. Needless to remind some stingy memories of Portuguese sides with United. Somehow, I think United always get a Portuguese or Scottish side in CL campaigns. Can't say if it's a blessing or curse though. I don't know much on Cluj, so I won't detail on this one.